How it works. Pick the state and the type of document. You get the steps in order (the right copy or notarization, any county step, the office's form, where to send it and the fee, and the stated processing time), each marked from the office's own page or as not confirmed.
Build an apostille request checklist
Colorado: notarized document
No county step first
- Office
- Colorado Secretary of State, Authentications Program
- Fee
- $5 per apostille by mail or drop-off.
- Do thisSign in front of a notary commissioned in the stateAn original (not stamped or photocopied) Colorado notary signature, with a notarial certificate in English that gives the state, county and date and complies with Colorado law.
- Good to knowCounty or court clerk stepNo separate county step: a document needs a Colorado notary's signature, certification by Colorado Vital Records, or certification by a Colorado county clerk's office.
- Do thisFill in the office's requestUse the office's own form: Apostilles & Authentications Request Form. Name the country where the document will be used. Open the form
- Do thisSend or bring it to the officeMail in, drop off, or walk in for expedited service (hand-delivered before 4:30 p.m.); online apostilles aren't available. Payment by check or money order only. Fee: $5 per apostille by mail or drop-off. Expedited: $15 per apostille, walk-in service only. Address: 1700 Broadway, Ste. 550, Denver, CO 80290
- Good to knowAllow for processingWorked in the order received, not on weekends or holidays; the office reports longer than normal wait times and states no number of days. Expedited service is for documents hand-delivered before 4:30 p.m. and can take longer when demand is heavy.
Official sources: Apostilles & Authentications Request Form, Colorado Secretary of State · Apostilles and Authentications, Colorado Secretary of State · Apostilles: Common reasons for rejection, Colorado Secretary of State · More on this state
After the apostille: if the destination isn't in the Hague Convention, the document still needs embassy legalization.
Getting the document ready
Most rejections come from the starting paper: a photocopy instead of a certified copy, a record from another state, or a notarization with a missing seal or commission date. Our guide to why apostille requests get rejected walks through them, and apostille vs notarization explains what each one proves. For every state on one page, see how to get an apostille in each state.
Signing a power of attorney, affidavit or consent for use abroad? The online notary and apostille package, or check whether your country needs an apostille or legalization.
MCC Solutions handles New Jersey apostilles, and our guide explains how to get an apostille in New Jersey. For other states, this page lists the office's own process.
General information, not legal advice. Checked November 2026 against the official pages linked in each checklist. Fees, forms and processing times change; the issuing office's own page is the final word. An apostille confirms the signature and seal on a document, not what the document says, and the office abroad decides what it accepts.
Questions about the checklist
Which state do I pick?
The state where the document was issued or notarized, not where you live. A birth certificate from one state and a power of attorney notarized in another go to two different offices. FBI checks and other federal records go to the U.S. Department of State whichever state you pick.
What does 'County step' mean?
In some states a county or court clerk must first certify the notary's commission or the clerk's signature before the state office will attach the apostille. The checklist says yes, no, or not confirmed for the state and document you picked.
What do the labels mean?
Do this is a step the office's own page sets out. Good to know is timing or background. Not confirmed means no official page we opened said, so nothing is guessed: ask the office before you send the document.
Is a diploma a school record or a notarized document?
Pick school record. Many offices apostille a school record only as a notarized copy or a notarized statement from the registrar, so the checklist also shows the state's notarized-document rule when the office's page has no separate school rule.
Does the checklist save what I choose?
No. The page reads your choices from the address bar and builds the list on the server. Nothing is stored, and it works without JavaScript.